Category: Brain

If you were to describe your life at the moment, how many of us would use the word ‘busy.’
How many of you have never ending ‘to-do’ lists? If someone asks you how you are – How
many of you would reply ‘Good….but busy.’ Why are we so obsessed with packing our
schedules, thinking a mile a minute, rushing around with no time to stop and smell the roses?
There is an obsession with needing to do something all of the time, a cultural badge of honour.
It’s not unusual to wake up and scroll through your feeds before even saying ‘Good morning’ to
the person lying next to you, or checking in with yourself.

As a society we have never worked more hours in a week than we do now; we have never
pushed ourselves so hard. Our list of things ‘to do’ never ends – it just keeps getting bigger. And
are we happier for it?

When was the last time you just sat and did nothing? Reflected? Took time out for yourself just
to ‘be’?

If this resonates with you or you’ve ever found yourself feeling stuck in cycles of stress,
dissatisfaction and discontent, or unsure how to simply relax and find some inner peace, then
the practice of mindfulness is for you.

Mindfulness is the art of living in the moment, rather than 2 minutes ahead or 2 weeks
behind. This style of thinking allows you to wholly experience everything in your life; taking time
to focus on the present. The benefits don’t stop there. It’s also been found to reduce cortisol (the
stress hormone), it allows you to handle stress better, and more recently, ‘mindful eating’ has
been linked to weight loss.

So, how can I get involved?

Melli O’Brien, of MrsMindfulness.com, presents The Mindfulness Summit; 31 Days of
Mindfulness a FREE 31-day online summit this October 1-31st designed to bring mindfulness
to everyone, giving you the opportunity to learn mindfulness from the comfort of your own home,
from some of the world’s most respected teachers.

The Mindfulness Summit is a not-for-profit project, with a mission to make mindfulness
mainstream. The summit aims to create a global community of people bringing mindfulness into
their lives, whilst making a positive impact on the lives of others. This is why all monies raised
from the summit project will be going to mindfulness based charities, including Breathworks,
The Oxford Mindfulness Centre and Mindfulness in Schools; charities all working in the field to
further mindfulness research and teaching.

Over the month of October, for 31 days you’ll be invited to listen to 31 world renowned
mindfulness experts speak on TheMindfulnessSummit.com <Insert link> sharing their
knowledge and wisdom with you all. Join speakers including Ruby Wax, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jack
Kornfield, Tara Brach and Joseph Goldstein as they share their tips, stories and some of the
best ways to incorporate mindfulness into your life.

As part of the 31 days of mindfulness, we’ll also be sharing our best tips for mindfulness,
wellness and meditation, as well as setting small challenges for you throughout the month – and
these are all designed to be easy, accessible, and something you can slip into your daily
routine.

You will learn how to transform your inner world to a place of wholeness and ease, handling
life’s challenges with more wisdom and skill. By the end of the summit you will have learnt how
to integrate mindfulness more fully into daily life.

Stop being ‘busy’ for the sake of being busy. Be still. Recharge. Re-engage. Your mindfulness
journey starts now.

How It Works:

1. Every day in October there will be new interviews, presentations and meditations sessions
uploaded to TheMindfulnessSummit.com <Insert link>

2. Register for free on the website to gain access to everything
3. Sign up for the newsletter and follow Mrs Mindfulness on Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram for the 31 Days of Mindfulness Challenge, extra summit content, opportunities
to chat with the speakers, mindfulness tips and more!
4. Become a more mindful, meditative version of you!

How to take part

1. Register on TheMindfulnessSummit.com <Insert link> for updates on the challenge and
the summit.
2. Follow Mrs Mindfulness on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram or Pinterest.
3. Use the hashtag #MindfulnessSummit to join in on the conversation – see what other
people are saying and get involved.
4. Sign up to our newsletter for bonus tips, the best mindfulness articles and extra updates.

Stress can be a major contributor to your spasmodic dysphonia, so relaxation can help you to undo this.

Meditation is a great way to help you to de-stress. It is simple, effective and easy.
You just sit, breathe and focus on the inside, leaving all of your worries and thoughts on the outside.
This way you allow your body and mind to heal. The tension will melt away.

Now Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra have started a FREE 21 day Mediation program
That you can be part of. Just go to the link below and register:

Meditation Associated With Increased Grey Matter In The Brainhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051110215950.htm“Meditation is known to alter resting brain patterns, suggesting long lasting brain changes, but a new study by researchers from Yale, Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows meditation also is associated with increased cortical thickness.”

The more relaxed your body is the better your voice will come out.
One of the best ways to relax every muscle in your body is
forced relaxation.

This is how to do forced relaxation:

1. Find a quit room, well ventilated.
2. Lie flat on your back on a mat, or matres, spine straight, arms close to your side, eyes closed so
you can focus your attention on the inside of your body.
3. Focus on your breathing, become aware of it.
4. Start by squeezing your eyes together, hold for 3 seconds.(only the eyes)
5. Let go and relax for 10 seconds
6. Do it again
7. Squeeze all the muscles around your mouth, (only the mouth)hold for 3 seconds
8. Let go and relax
9. Repeat
10. Stick out your tongue, as far as you can, hold for 3 seconds, release 10 seconds and repeat.
11. Squeeze all the muscles on your forehead (hold, release and repeat)
12. Tense neck backward (you know the rest)
13. Neck forward, left, right
14. Pull up your shoulders as high as you can
15. Squeeze hands, fingers (then one by one)
16. Work your way down to the tip of your toes.
17. Don’t forget pushing your belly all the way out (tensing, releasing, repeating)
18. Retracting all the muscles of your belly

Benefits of a relaxed body for your voice

Throughout your day you will become more aware when body tension starts to build. You will
start to notice it more and sooner, and when this comes to your attention, you can send the
signal to your muscles to let go and relax.
[ad]

Who am I?

Hi there, I am Jeroen Swart from Goes-Holland. I am an optician by profession and contracted adductor SD in 2006. Tried and tested everything that is out there and nothing worked for me. Finally I gave up and resorted to Botox, which gave me back my freedom (for 3 months). Then in 2010 something magically happened and my voice returned. I will tell you what led to this recovery in my book, which you can buy on Amazon.